Warm Me Up
by sunrow
Summary: Bucky just wanted to decorate his balcony with Christmas lights. He didn't expect to get mild hypothermia, and he certainly didn't expect his new neighbor to worry over him... Especially when that new neighbor turned out to be none other than Captain America himself. Shrunkyclunks one shot.


_A/N: I couldn't help but write a very short and fluffy Christmas-themed one shot for Soft Stucky Week 2016 on tumblr._

 _Modern!Bucky with Cap!Steve is one of my favorite tropes._ _Enjoy!_

* * *

Bucky had never really seen the point of decorating his apartment when there was nobody to appreciate it but himself. The fact he didn't have a roommate meant he had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, so he'd barely be in his apartment to enjoy the decorations anyway. It just wasn't worth the effort. But this year, Bucky was really getting into the Christmas spirit, and decided that his stance on decorations was going to change.

So, he pulled a hoodie on over his sweater, grabbed the cheap box of colorful outdoor Christmas lights he'd bought on his way home from work the day before, and headed out to his tiny balcony. It was just big enough to fit a couple of chairs, and had the type of railing that was perfect for winding the strings of light around. He set to work quickly, knowing that he had to get this over with fast before his gloveless fingers went numb from the cold.

"Shit," he cursed when his fingers started to fumble. He knew he should've done this earlier in the month when the weather was a bit warmer, but it'd been a last-minute decision and today was his only full day off before Christmas Eve. He certainly wasn't going to wait that late.

He continued working, despite the cold tingling his fingers. Eventually he had to shed his hoodie, needing more freedom of movement when a certain strand of lights wasn't cooperating. And then the worst thing that could've happened at that moment did: half the lights he still had left to put up were tangled into a giant knot.

"Oh, fuck everything," he cursed again, slumping onto one of the chairs and groaning at the tangled mess in his hands. "This is bullshit."

But he started untangling them anyway. Bucky was halfway through putting up those lights, so he'd be damned if anything stopped him from seeing it through. Not even his increasingly numb fingers, or the way he shivered so hard that they began to shake and slowed his progress. It was way too cold outside, maybe just below freezing, and he was only wearing a shirt and sweater with his jeans and boots. No gloves, no beanie, no scarf, and no hoodie since he'd taken it off. But eventually the shivering lessened, and he continued on, even if his movements were just as slow as before.

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting out there. His focus was entirely on getting the stupid knot untangled, so he didn't even realize his neighbor was out on his own balcony and watching him.

"Are you okay?"

Bucky reacted slowly, head snapping up a few moments after the person had spoken. "Huh?"

"I asked if you're okay." The guy was tall and blonde and Bucky could only focus on his wide shoulders that refused to be hidden by the man's jacket.

"Yeah, m'fine," Bucky slurred at the man, finally looking to his face and giving him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Jus' a lil cold, s'all."

The man - who was very handsome, Bucky noted absently - looked concerned. "Are you sure you're fine? Because you can barely speak."

What did he mean Bucky could barely speak? He was speaking just fine, thank you. "M speakin' jus' fine." He voiced, rolling his eyes for good measure.

If anything, the man looked even more worried. "What's your name?"

"Bucky," he replied. "Wha's yours?"

"I'm Steve." He said slowly, something akin to fear in his tone. "Bucky, I think you might have hypothermia, and we need to get you warm as soon as possible. Is the door to your apartment unlocked?"

Bucky nodded, and was just about to tell him that yes, his apartment was unlocked, when he realized the man had disappeared. He shrugged it off, going back to what he was doing before.

Wait, what was he doing? Oh yeah, putting up Christmas lights. He looked down at the mess in his lap. He had to untangle them first, that was right. He started slowly pulling at the knot again when warm hands covered his own. Bucky jerked back in surprise, looking up to see that the blonde guy was now in front of him.

"Okay, Bucky, I gotta get you warm, which means going inside and leaving this out here." He gently pulled the knotted lights out of Bucky's icy grip and put them back in the box, kicking it under the other chair.

Bucky frowned. He was so close to untangling the lights. If this guy had just left him alone for a little longer... "But-"

Steve cut him off with a shake of his head. "No 'buts', you have to get inside or you'll only get worse."

"Wha'ever." Bucky pouted, but let Steve pull him up and inside, closing the door to the balcony behind him. The room swam for a moment, and Bucky swayed on his feet. He didn't even realize how dizzy he was.

"Come on, just to the couch." Steve lead him over to it, adjusting some cushions before plopping him down. He quickly took his jacket off and putting it around Bucky's shoulders, still warm from his body heat. "There you go, that's good. Now where do you keep your blankets?"

"My wha?" Bucky asked, having missed what Steve had said, too focused on the sudden warmth. He looked at Steve, and smiled slowly, liking what he saw. "Yer pretty. We should go'n a date."

Steve blushed. "Maybe when you're not hypothermic. But blankets, Bucky. Where do you keep them?"

"Uh, m'bed?" Bucky couldn't think of where else he'd have blankets. Why was Steve asking him that anyway? It was such a weird question.

"Okay, I'll be back soon. Don't move from the couch." He quickly headed off, and true to word, he was back a moment later with Bucky's thick duvet. Like the jacket, he wrapped it around Bucky's shoulders, cocooning him in warmth. "Is that better?"

Bucky snuggled into the blanket. He still felt cold, but it was better now that he wasn't outside. "S'nice."

"Good. That's good." Steve smiled for the first time, and Bucky could've sworn he fell in love with him at that moment. Steve grabbed his hands and simply held them for a moment, frowning at how cold they were. "Can you feel my hands, Buck?"

"Kinda," He shrugged. He could definitely feel the heat of them, and a slight pressure, but nothing more substantial.

"Hmm," Steve frowned. He placed a hand to Bucky's head, then took his pulse, seeming a little less worried than he was a moment before. "You're shivering, cold to touch, and sluggish. Not to mention numb hands. But your breathing is pretty normal and your pulse is only a little elevated, so it must only be mild."

"M all good?"

"Not quite, but you will be. Do you feel nauseous at all?"

"Nah, lil hungry," Bucky replied, wondering just how long he'd been outside. It couldn't have been that long... Did he eat before he went out? He might've.

"Do you have the ingredients to make hot chocolate?"

"Got Swiss Miss next t'my coffee."

Steve left again, but Bucky could hear him moving around in the kitchen. The kettle boiled, and a minute later he was back with two steamy cups of hot chocolate, one of which he handed to Bucky carefully.

"Drink this slowly," Steve instructed, moving to sit down on the couch next to him. "It should help."

"Thanks." Bucky did as he was told, taking a tentative first sip. He could feel the liquid travelling down his throat and was starting to feel the warmth already. "Don't ya gotta 'av skin contact t'get warm?"

Steve almost spat out his drink. "Only in moderate to severe cases of hypothermia. But like I said, yours is only mild."

"Shame."

"Can we put a movie on?" Steve asked, ignoring his last comment. "It might take a while for you to get better, and I need to keep you awake until you are."

"Sure, got Netflix."

Steve went about finding a show or movie to watch, and ended up settling on Park and Recreation. He figured something funny would be more entertaining, and better able to keep Bucky awake. "This okay?"

"Mhmm."

Four episodes and two hot chocolates later, Bucky could feel his thoughts starting to get clearer, not realizing how cloudy they had been before. He glanced over at Steve to find that he was also watching him instead of the show, and narrowed his eyes when it occurred to him that Steve seemed vaguely familiar.

"You're my new neighbor, aren't ya?" He asked, speech now clearer than before as well. "Moved in a week ago, right?"

"Three weeks," Steve smiled shyly, though he had no reason to feel that way.

Bucky nodded absently. "I haven't met ya before, have I?"

"No, you haven't."

"So why do ya look familiar?" Bucky pouted, racking his brain for an answer. "Fuck. I should remember seeing someone as beautiful as you before."

Steve blushed again and cleared his throat. "So, uh, are you feeling better?"

"Much better." Bucky smiled, holding up his empty mug. "Thank you."

"It's no problem. Let me take that." He grabbed Bucky's mug, and headed back to the kitchen to put it in the sink.

Bucky watched him go, admiring his shoulders that were on full display under the tight sweater. He liked that his mind was now clear enough that he could check out his hot neighbor without anything clouding his judgement. And God, if those shoulders didn't turn him on... Not to mention the way they tapered down into a narrow waist... And that cute butt. Shit, Steve was literally perfect. Bucky found himself staring at those shoulders again.

Wait, that shoulder-to-waist ratio looked familiar as well. He didn't think he'd seen many men that had such a figure, so he thought long and hard again as Steve came and sat back down on the couch. He looked him over, not just his body, but his face as well. The blonde hair that was a little longer on top, the slight bump on the otherwise straight nose, the strong jaw, the bright blue eyes.

It hit him, suddenly, but Bucky couldn't be certain. The name was a clue, but he had to know more.

"Steve, what's your last name?"

If Steve knew why he was asking, he didn't give any indication. "Rogers."

"And how old are you?"

"27."

Okay, Bucky didn't quite know how old Steve was supposed to be. He thinks he remembers learning in high school that he was about 25 or 26 when he went into the ice - the same age Bucky was now - but he had no idea when he was taken out of the ice. Steve Rogers appeared again when aliens attacked Manhattan earlier that year, and maybe he'd be 27 by now. He definitely looked younger than 30.

"You're Captain America," Bucky stated, not bothering to make it a question.

Steve nodded. "I am."

Bucky frowned, remembering something he said earlier. "I called you pretty."

"You did." And then Steve blushed again. "And then you basically suggested that we cuddle in the nude."

Bucky laughed. He'd been hoping that would happen, hadn't he? But there was something else... "You said you'd go on a date with me."

"Yeah, I did." Steve chuckled, shaking his head bashfully. "I didn't think you'd remember that... But I, uh, I meant it."

"I didn't know Captain America was gay." Bucky smirked at him. It was true, though.

Steve shrugged. "He isn't. But Steve Rogers is bisexual."

Okay, Steve was bi, which meant Bucky actually had a chance. But it couldn't be that easy, could it? "You don't even know me." Bucky pointed out.

Steve rolled his eyes. "That's the point of dating, Buck, to get to know someone."

Bucky scrunched up his nose. "You're a punk."

"And you're a jerk," Steve grinned now, making Bucky feel as warm as the hot chocolate and the blanket had.

"How the hell am I a jerk?"

"You were trying to ignore my help."

"In my defense, I was so out of it that I didn't even realize anything was wrong." Bucky smirked. "But hey, you're the expert on getting frozen."

"Did you just?" Steve's eyes widened comically, and Bucky was just about to apologize for being insensitive, when Steve suddenly laughed. "You're right. I _am_ the expert. So, next time you decide to put Christmas lights up, make sure you stay warm."

"How about you get dinner with me after I finish work tomorrow, and then we finish putting them up together?"

Steve grinned, no blush tinting his cheeks this time. "It's a date."

And that's how Bucky started dating the one and only Captain America, all because he was an idiot who got hypothermia.

* * *

 _Merry Christmas!_

 _Come talk to me on tumblr, my username is stuckystruck :)_


End file.
